Success of Franchises vs. Independent Shops

I bought an existing business, 16 years ago.  My business is 80 years old this year.  I could not own a DQ.  I am totally involved in making my own ice creams.  I make the best.  I don't think I would be happy just shoveling it out the door, knowing that my contribution to my community is added calories with no flavor.  No one celebrates creativity, expands their knowledge of flavor, texture, or balance at a DQ.  My customers grow up, get married, have children and bring them all to my store to celebrate their love for one another.  When people come back to town to visit friends and family, they visit my store on the way home from the airport.  On Monday I had two people in my store eating ice cream.  One lady says, "I drove here from Highland Ht's (about 30 miles of city between here and there), the gentleman next to her says, (as a third person enters the store) "I've got you beat, I drove here from Columbus (about 125 miles away).  Just then the third person (who has just placed his order) chimes in, "I've got you both beat, I just drove in from Orlando.  I'll be visiting family for the next three days (they live about 25 miles from my store), but I lived near Weber's until I was 11 and the family moved to Florida (he's 63, now) and I just had to come back for some Frosted Malt.  The lady from across town came for the Lemon, the gentleman from Columbus came for the Butter Pecan, nothing like this happens at a DQ.  That same night a young mother brings her 9 month old daughter to Weber's for her introduction to ice cream.  She places her on the counter inside my store where I steady her while mom looks through her purse for money, feeds her small spoonfuls and the little one absorbs her surroundings.  A priest from a church 18 miles away is visiting with friends from a former parish and is on his third flavor of the evening and stops to talk to the young lady about baptising the baby.  Nobody is offended by the priest, the conversation, the fact that the baby is sitting on my counter, that I am not helping wait on customers (it is about 30 minutes to closing and the line is down to 6 people) because we are a unique part of the community.